“How did I end up befriending such a loser?”

“Sooyoung!” Haseul gives her girlfriend a shove hard enough to move her from her comfortable position. She rolls her eyes and goes back to what she was originally doing. “Jinsoul, stop moving so I can bandage your hand properly.”

Yes.

So, after their little failed fiasco in the rain yesterday and Jinsoul’s insistence on waiting for Jungeun to board the bus, the girl went home drenched from head to toe with a swollen wrist. Now, Jinsoul might have dried off from the cold wind blowing against her but obviously, God hates her because now she’s lying on the sofa with a fever and a bad wrist. Not that she’s complaining in the least, because she pretty much managed to spend the whole day with Jungeun. It’s definitely fate because today is the only day in the week where she can’t see the junior.

Honestly, thank God for the dorms.

Sooyoung plops her down on the floor and gently spreads the comforter more evenly, unable to conceal the worry that comes whenever Jinsoul sniffles. “Do you need me to stay here today? I can always go home next week, you know.”

“I’m fine, Soobongie. I know you miss your mom…”

The last time Sooyoung had the opportunity to go back home was more than a month ago. She never understood why her mother refused to move to the city where they literally own an apartment building and can live in the penthouse comfortably. Nonetheless, she’s not one to force others against their will.

Haseul leans in to give her girlfriend a kiss on the forehead, “I’ll be around to take care of this brat, don’t worry. Tomorrow, I’ll fetch you at the train station unless you want to take the car on your own.”

“You can fetch me, mommy.”

“Shut the hell up.”

Jinsoul can’t help but laugh through the clogged nose and high temperature, thankful that her best friends are here to entertain her in one way or another. She really hates falling sick because of how emotional she can get; it’s bad enough she’s more sensitive than most people, imagine the overwhelming load of feelings that pile up when she’s ill.

“Seulie, you can go home too… you need to finish your projects and sleep early if you want to pick Sooyoung up tomorrow morning.” Jinsoul mumbles, her eyes struggling to stay open with how good Sooyoung’s massage is. “We have some food in the fridge, don’t we? I can eat those later.”

The couple look at each other with equally exasperated looks, though Jinsoul isn’t wrong. Their submission week begins in less than two whole days and Haseul has a ton of work to do, whilst Sooyoung needs to go home before she starts getting busy as well.

Haseul groans as she stands up, placing her hand on the back of Jinsoul’s forehead. “Promise me you’ll call if you need anything though. I live ten minutes away from school so I can bring you necessities.”

“Yes, Mom…”

 

Sooyoung stands in the kitchen by herself, silently stirring the pot of porridge that was originally prepared for Jinsoul’s lunch – the girl has a really bad appetite when she’s sick. She misses her family more than anything, being a very family-oriented person and all. What about Jinsoul though? Staying in the dorms every weekend alone without her roommate is something Jinsoul is very well accustomed to but the past few times she has fallen sick, Sooyoung and Haseul are always around to nurse her back to the pink of health.

“Hey… are you okay?”

Feeling a pair of arms wrap around her waist, Sooyoung turns around and buries her face into Haseul’s shoulder.

“Baby, I can just come over anytime to check on Jinsoul. Try not to worry too much, okay?” Haseul whispers into her taller girlfriend’s ear, her hand tenderly rubbing her back.

It’s another side of Sooyoung that Haseul doesn’t see very often, since she doesn’t fall sick. As a child, she was very sickly but when she got together with Sooyoung… God, the girl nags plenty. Though the worry Sooyoung always feels isn’t uncalled for, because her grandfather died after a mere cold that developed into pneumonia – it was probably traumatic for her at such a young age.

“Please call and check in every once in a while.” Sooyoung mumbles. She suddenly pulls away like she’s been electrocuted, pushing her girlfriend gently before making a quick dash to the living room.

When Haseul gets over the whiplash Sooyoung just gave her, she walks into the living room to see Sooyoung holding Jinsoul’s phone with the biggest -eating grin to date. She mouths a ‘why didn’t we think of this sooner?’ before her fingers move across the screen nimbly and hastily. Haseul steals several glances at the snoozing girl, inwardly relieved that Jinsoul has no clue what is going on. Jinsoul would be throwing the biggest tantrum right now if she knew Sooyoung was using her phone to text that one person secretly.

“Is she coming?”

“She just cussed a dozen times in her text messages and said ‘WAIT’ so I assume so.” Sooyoung locks Jinsoul’s phone and puts it back in its original position, looking all too innocent and proud of herself. “Am I a genius or what?”

I just hope Jinsoul agrees when she wakes up.

 

 

The next time Jinsoul opens her eyes, the living room is almost pitch black save for the lava lamp standing in the corner near the television. She can actually hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears and her limbs aching, tell-tale signs that her body is still not back to its healthy state yet. Her eyes can barely remain open, her body still feeling weak from having slept the entire afternoon. Jinsoul vaguely remembers telling her two best friends to get lost and do whatever they needed to – to put it bluntly – so the silence is expected.

… what is not expected is the soft snoring sounds bouncing off the walls.

“Seulie?” Jinsoul calls out weakly.

When she receives no response, she grabs her phone off the table and turns on the flashlight. Jinsoul barely makes it to the bedroom without bumping into the wall, her legs still half asleep.

Jinsoul’s eyes don’t miss the lump underneath Sooyoung’s comforter, even though it was her bed being used and not Sooyoung’s – weird, but no matter. She strides in slowly and starts to nudge the lump, laying her body on the other side of the bed. “Seulie… I’m hungry…” Her one hand continues pulling and tugging the comforter in an annoying fashion, even after her eyes are closed. “Wake up and cook for me…” Jinsoul groans one last time before surrendering herself to sleep.

The bed dips to one side and Jinsoul’s lips curl into an adorable grin, nuzzling her face deeper into the pillow. She doesn’t even budge when she feels herself being tucked into bed, simply enjoying the feeling of being babied.

 

*

 

“Unnie….”

“Jinsoul-unnie…”

Jungeun stops for a moment, her eyes feasting on Jinsoul’s features. She knew this was going to happen when the senior refused to leave without her getting up the bus, but it’s okay because she’s here now.

“Unnie… wake up, you need to eat so you can take some medicine.”

Jinsoul groans before turning over to face Jungeun, her hands coming up to her eyes instinctively. She can barely hear whoever’s speaking right now but wow, the smell of her perfume is lovely.

“Seulie, I told you to – JUNGEUN?!”

The surprise must have hit Jinsoul full force because the girl literally backs away and ends up falling onto the cold floor. Jinsoul sits on her knees, resting her elbows on the bed with her big puppy eyes effectively melting Jungeun’s heart. It probably isn't the most appropriate place or setting to be noticing anything other than Jinsoul’s sickness but God, the girl’s just so, so cute. It should not only be illegal, impossible but a crime for someone to look so endearing by doing absolutely nothing.

“Jungeun… What are you doing in my dorm room? Where’s Haseul? I thought she was cooking something for me.”

“You were talking to me, Unnie.”

The sound that bounces off Jinsoul’s poor forehead makes Jungeun flinch, instinctively reaching over to grab Jinsoul’s wrist. She rolls her eyes when Jinsoul’s expression morphs into her on the verge of shedding tears.

“Unnie! It’s not a big deal. You’re sick and I’m free, so I’m here to babysit you.”

The shorter brunette doesn’t wait for a response, knowing Jinsoul is more likely to bury herself under the covers and hide in her bedroom till she leaves. She gently slides her hand into Jinsoul’s bigger one, looking straight into Jinsoul’s dark orbs with a bashful gaze. “I’m not leaving either way, so just let me take care of you while you focus on getting better.” Jungeun’s unwavering voice and firm tone don’t allow any space for uncertainty or rejection whatsoever, so Jinsoul decides against any retortion.

If Jinsoul is mildly concerned at how well Jungeun seems to know the dorm, she doesn’t show it anyway, her eyes just glossing over the shorter girl standing in front of the stove.

“Jungeun? Do you need help?”

Jungeun turns around to see Jinsoul curiously peeping into the kitchen and her smile widens; why does she have to be so adorable? She beckons the older girl in with a little wriggle of her finger. “Since you’re here, why don’t you tell me if this tastes good enough? I can always add some seasoning if your taste buds are not in shape.”

When Jinsoul doesn’t make any movement to stand beside her, she stops stirring when she gets the shock of her life – Jinsoul’s face suddenly appears above her shoulder with an open mouth.

“UNNIE!”

“What? You asked me to taste it so here I am!”

Jinsoul doesn’t say anything but her eyes are fixated on Jungeun’s flushed cheeks, and she certainly notices when Jungeun’s eyes drop their eye contact to look at her lips. She swallows nervously and her ears burn a bright red, caught in a dilemma – should she back off right now and pretend nothing happened or should she just… lean down and kiss Jungeun? From where she’s standing, Jungeun is clearly not against the latter because her eyelids are fluttering shut even whilst Jinsoul goes through her inner turmoil.

“J-Jungeun…”

Is all Jinsoul can say before she feels the softest pair of lips against her own, and a hand sliding into hers.

 

There isn’t much talking after that, since Jungeun hasn’t forgotten Jinsoul is actually sick and requires more rest than conversation. She brings a small bowl of soup into the living room with Jinsoul trailing after her like a lost puppy.

“Do you want me to turn the TV on? We can watch Netflix or something…”

“Jungeun, what about your work? Don’t you have a report to do?” Jinsoul asks softly, her eyes not meeting the younger’s. She already feels terrible about needing someone with her, although her best friends have some part to play in this. “I can send you home if you need to go.”

That’s it.

The entire night Jungeun has been hearing the same thing over and over; she’s not mad because she understands where Jinsoul’s coming from but good God - enough. Jungeun’s not here because she has to be or because Jinsoul’s alone, she’s here because she wants to take care of Jinsoul.